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Gore tickets gone in 10 minutes

Boise may be ga-ga over our Broncos, but Ian Johnson and Jared Zabransky aren't the only rock stars on the BSU campus. Free tickets for Al Gore's January 22 speech at BSU's Jordan Ballroom disappeared mere minutes after distribution began at 10 a.m. today. A student union staff member estimated the line to be at least a thousand people long, with most people leaving disappointed. BSU will open up several other rooms for closed-circuit viewing of the former VP's talk, but you can expect those to be packed, too.

Gore first spoke at BSU in 1992, right around the time he was named Bill Clinton's vice presidential nominee. The ballroom was packed then; it's hard to believe BSU didn't expect much bigger demand this time. Jesse Jackson, who will speak on campus January 17, was booked into the Taco Bell Arena. Why didn't university staff plan to have Gore speak there, too?

One other note: Gore's upcoming appearance was only lightly noted in the local mainstream media. I didn't see a Statesman staffer at the scene this morning, nor anyone from local TV. I'm all for coverage of the Fiesta Bowl win, which is a truly huge story for Idaho - but not if it means the media can't spare someone to at least show up and check on ticket demand for someone like Al Gore.